Who Am I?
by Agent Ninety-Nine
Summary: A fic based on the PlayStation game T'ai Fu: Wrath of the Tiger. T’ai now knows who his father was, but that is only half the story of his birth...


It was bitterly cold in the mountains and the air was thin. T'ai Fu was not cut out for this climate; he was no Siberian tiger but a pure Chinese. The young male wore only a pair of loose blue trousers held up by a red sash, although his lush pelt protected him from the worst of the weather. He had made a rough camp in the shelter of the ruined temple and sat in the lotus position by the fire he had built, staring into the flames with thoughtful green eyes. He was tired to the bone from fighting too hard, too long, yet he did not sleep. 

The day had been an eventful one. T'ai Fu had come to Tiger Mountain in search of answers, but those he had found led only to fresh questions. 

He had been told that here, in the ancient stronghold of the Tiger clan, he might learn the secret of his birth. T'ai was the last of his race; brought up by kindly pandas in the shelter of their monastery, he had never seen another tiger, nor even another feline until his recent meeting with the Leopard King and his tribe. 

The mountains lay beyond the Great Wall, guarded by fierce boar soldiers. T'ai had forced his way through the grunts using all the kung fu skills at his disposal. As he climbed higher he had to fight the elements too, sliding on slippery patches of ice and leaping great chasms with the aid of the lessons he had learned from the Monkey and Crane Masters. Then, suddenly, calm amid the fierce wind and the temple, a glowing patch of red and gold in the icy landscape. 

There T'ai knelt, sensing that this was a holy place. And there a spirit had appeared to him - Lau Fu, the mighty leader of the Tiger clan - and told him the story of his birth and the prediction of his destiny. 

So Lau, the legendary white tiger master, was his father. But who was his mother? T'ai looked down at his own brilliant orange coat, the black stripes unusually broad and forming a V across the nape of his neck. No hint there of the white genes in his ancestry, the line of noble white tigers stretching back to the misty dawn of time. Lo Ping, his panda tutor and guardian, had told him the white tigers seldom took a mate outside their own kind. He rubbed the back of his head in a characteristic gesture and examined the rich hues of his furry foreleg. 

"Who were you, Mom?" he wondered out loud. 

The fire flickered and grew brighter, burning with a bluish tinge. A cloud of smoke puffed out, making the tiger cough. He rubbed his eyes, and when he opened them again a tigress, pale and ghostly, stood before him. 

She was a beautiful creature. In a sheer blue dress, a gold collar round her neck, she reached out to T'ai. He tried to take the outstretched hand, but his own paw passed through it. 

"Mom," he whispered, shivering. 

"Yes. T'ai Fu, how you've grown! You were a tiny cub when I last saw you. Oh, how I wish I could have watched you grow up." The spirit gave a faint sigh. 

"Who are you? What's your name? Please tell me," T'ai begged. 

"I am Tan Tau," she said. "Many years ago, I was sent from my village to ask help of the white tigers. We had quarrelled with the leopards and they were killing any lone tiger they found. I was brought before your father, who agreed to return with me. It was a long journey, and along the way...we fell in love." His mother's face was radiant, but soon it grew sad again. 

"There were whispers among the clan. It had long been unheard of for a white tiger to marry outside the mountain community. That way the Chi force cultivated over the centuries remained strong. And Lau was the leader of the clan. There was a rumour that when the white leader took a foreign mate it would spell destruction for the whole race." 

"The Dragon Master!" T'ai breathed. 

"Yes. Whether the legend came true or it was a terrible coincidence, who can say. But soon after our marriage we heard of the Dragon's rise to power. Of course the white tigers rose up against him, as did many other brave and noble warriors. And one by one, they fell. 

"On the day you were born there was fighting outside the very walls of the tiger stronghold. Your father told you the prophecy that was made concerning your future. The fate of the world rests in your paws, T'ai. But I cannot rest while I know you are in danger. Destroy the Dragon Master and set my spirit free, so that Lau and I may be together forever." 

"But Mom -" The apparition vanished. The fire died in a cascade of sparks, and there was utter darkness. But now T'ai Fu knew for certain who he was and what he must do. Defeat the Dragon Master and avenge his parents. He summoned up a picture in his mind: his father and mother standing together. At once his whole body crackled with the Chi force, more powerful than he had ever felt it before. He held up his paw and sent a ball of pure energy spinning down into the valley below. 

"Mother! Father! I know who I am, and I'm ready to face my destiny!" He cracked his knuckles and yelled to the sky: "Bring it on!" 


End file.
